Kuala Lumpur: At least one individual has been found dead and six have been rescued after a boat carrying nearly 100 undocumented migrants sank in waters near the Malaysia-Thailand maritime border, local police said on Sunday.
Malaysia’s Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah said the boat was part of a larger ship transporting around 300 people by a syndicate.
According to Adzli, around 300 migrants boarded a large vessel about a month ago. As the large vessel neared the Malaysian maritime border, the syndicate divided the migrants into three smaller boats to avoid detection by the authorities, Xinhua reported, quoting Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.
A boat carrying an estimated 100 people capsized three days ago, and the status of the other two boats is still unknown, said Adzli, according to Bernama.
A search and rescue mission involving marine police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency is underway.
On October 27, four people died after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Lesvos, according to the Greek state broadcaster ERT.
Another seven migrants were rescued, the Greek coast guard said. A search and rescue operation was ongoing, despite being hindered by strong winds reaching force six on the Beaufort scale.
The exact number of people on board at the time of the incident remains unclear, as the survivors — all Sudanese nationals — do not speak English, making communication difficult.
Greece has been a major entry point for irregular migrants and refugees into the European Union since 2015, with more than one million arrivals recorded since then. Hundreds have lost their lives at sea during these journeys.
Earlier on October 17, Greek authorities said that two people died and ten others were injured after a boat carrying migrants sank off the Greek island of Chios.
The boat crashed onto rocks off the coast under still undetermined circumstances on Thursday evening, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard.
A total of 29 people were on board when the incident occurred. The nationalities of the victims and the rescued have not yet been disclosed.
(IANS)
